The 9 Greatest Surprise Performances in Pro Cycling in 2011

Dec 22, 2011

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Michele Scarponi bridges at Milan–San Remo

After a crash split the peloton midway through this year's Milan–San Remo, it was clear that those who got caught behind weren't chasing with enough gusto to bring the two groups back together. So it seemed that a group of 40 would contest the finish, until Michele Scarponi jumped clear of the second peloton, on the Cipressa, and embarked on a grueling individual time trial across a two-minute gap, to make contact with the front group before it hit the race's final—and usually decisive—climb, the Poggio.

But Scarponi wasn't done talking. He followed late attacks near the crest of the Poggio and joined a group of eight riders that would contest the finish. Scarponi finished sixth. His bridge, and subsequent ability to make the selection over the Poggio, was perhaps the spring's gutsiest long-shot ride, a sign of power from the savvy veteran, who would go on to finish second to Alberto Contador in the Giro d'Italia.

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Andre Greipel wins from break at Three Days of De Panne

Though Greipel's move to Omega Pharma–Lotto from Mark Cavendish's Highroad team gave him fresh opportunities to pick up a number of sprint wins, his most impressive performance—if not his most prestigious victory—came at the Three Days of De Panne, an early spring tune-up for the classics. On Stage 1, midway through the race, Greipel joined a four-man breakaway, which caught and passed the day's early move with 60 kilometers to go.

Though the foursome pulled out about a minute-and-a-half gap over the field, they entered the final kilometer with a hard-charging peloton hot on their heels. Greipel unleashed a very, very long sprint, gapping his breakaway companions as riders from the peloton unleashed a sprint of their own. Another few meters and Greipel would've been swallowed whole, but he held to take the hard-earned win. His victory was an unusual show of prowess by the sprinter. While in the past he'd made a name for himself media-sparring with Cavendish, his victory at De Panne was a way to let his legs do the talking.

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Thomas de Gendt takes back yellow at Paris-Nice

Thomas de Gendt, Vacansoleil's young Belgian, had seized the yellow jersey on Stage 1 of Paris-Nice with an unlikely breakaway that barely survived to the finish only meters ahead of a sprinting peloton. After losing the yellow jersey on Stage 3, De Gendt attacked early in Stage 4, instigating another daylong breakaway, and once again he entered the final kilometers with the peloton breathing down his neck.

De Gendt drove the breakaway hard all the way to the line, and though Thomas Voeckler easily outsprinted the small group for the stage win, De Gendt had ensured that he finished enough ahead of the peloton to pull on the leader's yellow jersey. It was an impressive performance from the youngster—smart, strong, gritty. Expect even bigger things from him in the future.

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Sep Vanmarcke goes up the road in Paris-Roubaix

The big story from this year's Paris-Roubaix was that Garmin-Cervelo—after trying so many times in major spring races—had finally succeeded in its strategy of putting potential race-winners in just about every move and hoping that one of them would pull off a win. Johan van Summeren attacked the race's breakaway, while behind a frustrated Fabian Cancellara was unable to shake van Summeren's teammate Thor Hushovd, and left his pursuit of the victory too late.

An unspoken hero of the race was a young unknown Garmin rider named Sep Vanmarcke. With about 60 kilometers to go, he attacked what was left of the field and hammered up the road. Now, it's unlikely that Vanmarcke would have been able to stay with Cancellara and Hushovd when they made their move a bit later, but Vanmarcke's presence in their small group when they joined him was critical to Garmin's success.

He drove their small group to create the crucial separation they needed, and provided the numbers to overwhelm Cancellara, keeping his powerful engine in check while Hushovd took a breather and, farther up the road, van Summeren laid the groundwork for his victory. It was brilliant, savvy racing by a strong youngster, and a sign of exciting things to come.

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Tyler Farrar joins Leopard-Trek on Stage 4 of Giro

After the death of Wouter Weylandt (Leopard-Trek) on Stage 3 of the Giro d'Italia, the race's organizers neutralized Stage 4 so that the peloton could pedal in a memorial procession for their fallen colleague.

As the pack rode closer to the finish line, the remaining eight riders on the Leopard-Trek squad came forward, going just ahead of the bunch in a tribute to their teammate. They were joined by Garmin-Cervelo's Tyler Farrar, one of Weylandt's best friends and regular training partner. It was touching of Leopard-Trek to call the American forward. Farrar's presence among eight Leopard-Trek riders also served to remind viewers of the ninth who was absent. The riders each put an arm around the rider next to them, and Farrar's face was wet with tears. They crossed the finish together, in a line that stretched across the road, watched by a solemn, silent crowd.

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Thor Hushovd keeps the maillot jaune at Tour

After Garmin-Cervelo's victory in the Stage 2 team time trial at the Tour de France, Thor Hushovd pulled on the race leader's yellow jersey. But nobody really expected him to hold his lead for long—not with an on-form Cadel Evans just a second behind him. The Tour's first week was characterized by short, hilly finishes that favored powerful climbers such as Evans and puncheurs like Philippe Gilbert. A big, sprinting rouleur such as Hushovd was unlikely to hold off this world-class field on difficult finishes.

But the yellow jersey has a way of bringing about inspired performances, and over and over again Hushovd was willing to lay it all out to wear the jersey another day. On Stage 4's uphill finish, he opened the throttle on his diesel engine, churning up a power climb with an elite group of climbers and attackers to finish sixth, ahead of wispy climbers like Frank Schleck, Samuel Sanchez, and Jurgen Van Den Broeck. It wasn't until Stage 9, when eight categorized climbs provided a launch pad for a successful breakaway, that Thomas Voeckler would pry the jersey from Hushovd's shoulders.

Voeckler would go on to launch his own inspired defense of the jersey, which lasted 10 stages. But Hushovd wasn't done: The God of Thunder picked up two stage wins later in the Tour.

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Andy Schleck attacks on Stage 18 of the Tour de France

With few opportunities left to make up time on his general-classification rivals, Andy Schleck entered the last few days of the 2011 Tour de France motivated. On Stage 18, he went on the attack on the second of the stage's three hors categorie climbs, confounding many. Surely he has gone way too early; he'll never make it that far alone; he'll gain time on the climbs but lose it with his subpar descending skills.

But those who'd criticized him for a lack of tactical nous were off base: He had teammates up the road to help pace him up the Izoard and to the base of the Galibier. Andy's sortie netted him a prestigious stage win, and two minutes on his rivals, thank you very much.

More important, it was a sign of maturity from the young rider, whose climbing prowess—yet to make up for his time-trialing deficiency—has taken him close to Tour victory. Schleck may be on the verge of upgrading from Tour bridesmaid to true contender for the podium's top spot.

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Cadel Evans chases Andy Schleck on Stage 18 of Tour

Behind Andy Schleck's brash solo attack on Stage 18, another drama unfolded. As Cadel Evans watched one rival open a threatening gap, around him other riders were too fatigued or unmotivated to chase. The gap yo-yoed, and Tour-weary riders were content to take shelter from the headwinds that led to the day's final climb. With 10 kilometers to go, at the base of the Galibier, Evans attacked. He put his hands in the drops, started grinding a gear, and began chipping away at Schleck's advantage.

For a while he looked like the frustrated Evans of years past, too, as if he were once again getting set up to be attacked by riders who forced him to bear the brunt of the chase. It looked as though he'd wear himself out, only to have Frank Schleck dance away and deliver the Schleck brothers' famous one-two punch. But this time, despite being alone and outnumbered, Evans worked away, dropped his rivals, finished third on the stage, and prevented both Andy and Frank from gaining enough time to threaten his Tour win. It was perhaps the greatest narrative for Evans' Tour de France victory: Outgunned and at a strategic disadvantage, he wound up being the strongest guy on the road.

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Fabian Cancellara sprints to fourth place at worlds

Fabian Cancellara may not make a big deal out of how hungry he is to wear the stripes of the road race world champion, but the fire's there. Spartacus must have lost a night or two of sleep over the 2009 world championships, when in his eagerness he attacked too frequently and was too heavily marked by weaker rivals to go with the winning move that led to Cadel Evans' win.

It was a great surprise, then, that in Copenhagen this year—on a pancake-flat affair billed as a sprinter's course—Cancellara appeared near the front in the final few hundred meters, pitting his massive time-trialist's engine against the sharp, spiky power output of pro cycling's best sprinters. The course couldn't have suited Cancellara's abilities less, but he attempted a sprint of his own, and to the surprise of many, just barely missed out on third place by a bike throw against Andre Greipel.

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